Weatherstripping



Jan. 2, 1968 J. M. PROTZMAN 3,

WEATHERSTRI PP ING Filed May 17, 1965 INVENTOR.

JOHN M. PROTZMAN WMM ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,360,888 WEATHERSTRIPPING John M. Protzman, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to The Ever- Roll Manufacturing Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed May 17, 1965, Ser. No. 456,066 Claims. (Cl. 49-496) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A Weatherstripping for use between two relatively movable members having perpendicular fiat surfaces and which includes a dual durometer plastic material having a rigid mounting section adapted to be secured in place on a flat surface of one member and a resilient section adapted to engage the fiat surface of the other of the members for providing the seal. The resilient portion is inwardly coiled so that when in the sealing position the coil engages both members to reduce substantially the flow of air therebetween.

This invention relates to Weatherstripping intended for sealing around exterior doors and the like.

An important object of this invention is to provide an improved Weatherstrip or seal which is self-adjusting and cooperates with the door and the doorjamb to provide a tight seal through which air cannot pass when the door is closed.

Another object of this invention is to provide a dynamic Weatherseal which blocks the flow of air through a tight or loose connection between a door and its associated doorjamb, and particularly to provide such a seal which can be installed by a relatively unskilled workman in a minimum of time and without special tools.

A further object of this invention is to provide a weatherseal of the aforesaid type which expands and contracts in such a manner that seal is maintained even though the looseness between the door and its jamb is increased after a substantial period of use, and further to provide such a seal which is made integrally of weather resistant material which is aesthetically attractive.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a door and a doorjamb using the sealing strip in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an upper corner of the door shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating the Weatherstripping in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is another perspective view of a section of a Weatherstripping of this invention; v

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken essentially along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is another sectional view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the door in'the open position;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the structure of the invention in greater detail; and

FIG. 7 is an elevation view of a corner of the weatherstripping with the door and doorjamb removed and illustrating the manner in which two pieces of the seal mate at right angles.

Referring to the drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, FIG. 1 shows a wall 10 having a door assembly 11 mounted therein which includes a doorjamb 12 having parallel vertical members 13 and 14 and a horizontal top member 15. The door 16 itself is hinged to the doorjamb 12 on the vertical member 14 and cooperates with the stop members 17 3,360,888 Patented Jan. 2, 1968 (FIG. 2) which are secured to each of the vertical and horizontal members 13-15 of the doorjamb 12. The position of these stop members with respect to the door 16 and its hinges is important to insure that there is a relatively tight fit between the doorjamb 12 and the door 16. As shown in FIG. 1, the door 16 is adapted to be opened inwardly so that the Weatherstripping 20 is placed on the exterior side of the door.

The weatherseal or stripping 20 in accordance with this invention is shown in FIG. 3 and comprises an elongated rigid section 21 which is adapted to be secured to the stop members 17 along their entire length so that the Weatherstripping is provided along both vertical sides and the top of the door, as will be further explained. The positioning of the rigid section 21 of the seal on the stop members 17 is important, and the carpenter doing the installation is instructed to mount the edge 22 of this seal a preset distance d (FIG. 5) from the side 23 of the stop member 17 which is contacted by the door 16.

A plurality of parallel grooves 25 are formed in the inside surface 26 of the rigid section 21 of the seal for the purpose of providing a tight engagement with the adjacent surface 28 of the stop member 17. These grooves allow the rigid section 21 to flex somewhat along its length and across its width so that it may be secured tightly to the stop members 17 against the surface 28 thereof. Moreover, these grooves tend to trap any air which might leak between the rigid section 21 and the stop member 17. The seal 20 is secured in place by use of conventional nails 32 which are inserted through openings 33 at predetermined spaced intervals in the rigid section 21 of the Weatherstripping, as shown in FIG. 2.

An upstanding shoulder 34 is formed integrally on the rigid section 21 along the edge portion 35 thereof which is nearest to the door 16,- and the outer end 36 of this shoulder has a resilient section 38 formed coextensively and integrally therewith. The resilient section 38 extends slightlyoutwardly of the door stop 17 and has a rounded or curled end portion 40, as shown clearly in FIG. 5. The resilient section 38 thus is parallel to and coextensive with the rigid section 21 and the shoulder 34, as clearly shown in FIG. 3. The enlarged cross-sectional portion 41 of the resilient section is provided adjacent the shoulder 34 and this tapers gradually down to a uniform thickness in the curled portion 40.

As shown in FIG. 7, the Weatherstripping 20 on each of the vertical members 13 and 14 has a cutout portion 44 in the end thereof from the shoulder 34 and the resilient section 38, so that the vertical seal 33a can be nested tightly with thehorizontal seal 33b. In other words,

- the cutout portion 44 engages the shoulder 34 and resilient section 38 of the horizontal seal 3311. This facilitates installation by the carpenter, and is merely necessary for him to cut the horizontal seal 33b to the prescribed length and secure it in position. Then the vertical seals 33a are cut to length with any excess being removed from the bottom portion thereof, and they can be then secured in place since the top edge thereof is nested in the manner shown in FIG. 7.

As indicated above, the Weatherstripping 20 is made integrally including both the rigid and the resilient sections 21 and 38. A suitable material for this purpose, is a polyvinyl chloride sold under the trade name Geon by the B. F. Goodrich Chemical Company, of Cleveland, Ohio. The section-s 21 and 38 are made rigid and resilient by varying the plasticizer added thereto. The material is weather resistant, and the rigid section thereof facilitates handling and installation, and effects the tight seal against the door stop. On the other hand, theresilient section 38 thereof assumes various positions during operation as will be further explained. The formation of the two sections as an integral unit also expedites the manufacture at a 3. relatively low pricecompared to that which would occur from assembling the two sections after they have been extruded.

In operation, assuming that the weather seal 20 is properly mounted on the horizontal and vertical door steps 17 as specified above, the resilient sections 38 assume the positions shown in FIG. 5, wherein they extend beyond the side 23 of the door stop 17. As the door 16 is closed, it contacts the curled o-r coiled portion 40 of the resilient section 38 and causes it to progressively roll into a coiled position as shown in FIG. 6. In this position, there is contact between the coiled portion 40 and door 16 at the [point P and between the door stop 17 and the portion 40 at the point P In addition, there may also be a contact point P between the end 50 of the coiled portion 40 and the shoulder 41 to complete a circular space 52 within the seal 20 itself. This arrangement causes the seal 20 to be maintained in sung contact with the adjacent door stop and door, and thereby prohibits the flow of cooled air therebetween. Any air which might pass between the rigid section 21 and the door stop 17 will be trapped in the space 53 defined between the coiled portion 40 on the edge of the resilient section 38 and the shoulder 34.

Even though the door 16 may warp after use, or become loose for one reason or another so that the space 55v (FIG. 4) is created between the door stop 17 and the door 16, the seal 20 will extend and continue to be effective to maintain contact with the door and door stop. As shown in FIG. 5, the resilient section 38 extends a substantial distance beyond the contacting surface 23 of the door stop 17, and thus will compensate for substantial amount of loosenes-s between thedoor jamb 12 and the door 16. Moreover, the *door 16 may warp along its length and since the resilient section 38 is flexible, it will accommodate this variation along its length so that no openings or looseness is provided between the seal 20, and the door 16 as occur in most non-resilient prior art weather seals or strips.

The inventionha-s thus provided an improved weather stripping which is easily installed and which provides a seal capable of compensating for variance and looseness between the door and its doorjarnb. The seal is easily. installedand is inexpensive in cost both from the manufacturing standpoint and the installation standpoint. Although .a slight pressure is exerted on the door by the snug engagement with the seal, there is no noticeable resistance to the closing of the. door. The material is attractive by reason of its particular construction, and this construction also allows it to accommodate warpage either initially or that'might occur. after a considerable period of use. The seal does not deteriorate aftersubstantial use, nor does the flexibility of the resilient section decrease after use.

While the form of apparatus herein. described constitutes a preferred embodiment ofthe, invention, it is to be un'derstoodthat the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes'may be made therein without departing fro-m the scope of the invention which is defined in the :app-endedclaims.

What is .claimed is:

1. An improved Weatherstripping adapted for use with a door assembly including a pair ofrelatively movable frame members adapted to' engage each other and each having a flat surface which is perpendicular to the flat surface of the other frame member, said improved Weatherstripping. comprising, a dual durometer strip of plastic material including arigid mounting section adapted to be secured to the flat surface on one of the frame members, means adapted for securng'said rigid section to the fiat surface of the one oft-he frame members, a rigid shoulder formed integrally with said mounting section alongthe edge-adjacent the one member, said shoulder adapted to extend generally perpendicularly to the fiat surface of the one frame member and parallel to the flat surface of the second frame member, an upper edge on said shoulder spaced from the one member a preset distance, a resilient sealing section of said material formed integrally on said edge of said shoulder and adapted to extend toward the fiat surface of the second frame member, said resilient strip having a first portion adjacent said mounting section strip extending generally parallel to the flat surface of the one member and perpendicular to the flat surface of the second member, and a coiled portion formed integrally with said first portion and loosely coiled inwardly toward the flat surface of the one member to abut snugly both of the flat surfaces of the frame members at separate and distinct points to block the flow of air through the space between the frame members.

2. An improved Weatherstripping as defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting section has a plurality of parallel grooves disposed longitudinally in the surface adapted to be secured adjacent the fiat surface of the one frame member for trapping air which may flow between the door and said mounting section.

3. An improved Weatherstripping as defined in claim 1 wherein said coiled portion forms at least a complete circle when in sealing engagement so that the outermost end of said coiled portion engages an intermediate portion of said coil.

4. An improved Weatherstripping as defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting section and said shoulder are made of rigid polyvinyl chloride and said resilient section is made of flexible polyvinyl chloride.

5. An improved Weatherstripping adapted for use with a door assembly including a door hingedly mounted on a door jam-b and adapted to seat against a door stop, the door and jamb having fiat surfaces which are perpendicular to each other, said improved Weatherstripping comprising, a dual durometer strip of plastic material including a rigid mounting section adapted to be secured to the flat surface on the door jamb, a rigid shoulder formed integrally with said mounting section along t he edge adj acent the door jamb, said shoulder adapted to extent generally perpendicularly to the fiat surface of the door and parallel to the flat surface of the door jarnb, an upper edge on said shoulder spaced from the door jamb a preset distance, a resilient sealing section of said material formed integrally on said edge of said shoulder and adapted to extend toward the fiat surface of the door, said resilient strip having a first portion adjacent said mounting section strip extending generally parallel to the fiat surface of the door iamb and perpendicular to the fiat surface of the door, and a coiled portion formed integrally with said first portion and loosely coiled inwardly toward the flat surface of the door jamb to abut snugly both of the flat surfaces of the door and door jamb at separate and distinct points to block the'fiow of air through the space between the door and door jamb.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 986,828 3/1911 Kamrnerer 49-483 1,774,642 9/ 19.30 Fuchs et al 49480 2,091,791 8/1937 Newman 49- 489 2,294,101 8/ 19.42. Trip-p 49-495 2,660,272 11/ 1953 Walterman et al 49'-504 2,757,422 8/1956 Flicker 49 -496 X 3,238,573 3/1966 Pease 49--489 X 3,276,167 10/1966 Bus et a1. 49-485 EARL I. WITMER, Primary Examiner.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Examiner.

PHILLIP C. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner, 

